A Non-Anxious Life: Experiencing the Peace of God's Presence

by Alan Fadling

Overview

Do you, like so many of us, see anxiety as an incentive to perform? Or a proof of how much you care? Or is anxiety simply an unwelcome shadow over your days, bringing with it clenched teeth and an upset stomach?

Anxiety leads us to succumb to fear and fight peace. Anxious living is a distortion of good motives, blocking the clarity of stillness and rest.

Alan Fadling has also felt mastered by worry, but he brings counsel on how to learn a better way and who to look to for it: Jesus, "the ultimate non-anxious presence." He constructs a posture from which we can rest more deeply, live more fully, and lead better. Fixing our minds on grace and eternity, we can begin to see the benefit of loosening our grip and operating from a sure foundation. Join Alan in releasing anxiety and taking up authentic love in A Non-Anxious Life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781514000519
Publisher:	IVP Formatio
Publication date:	02/06/2024
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Alan Fadling (MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary) is president and founder of Unhurried Living in Mission Viejo, California, inspiring people to rest deeper, live fuller, and lead better. He speaks and consults internationally with organizations such as Saddleback Church, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Cru, Halftime Institute, Apprentice Institute, and Open Doors International.

He is the award-winning author of An Unhurried Leader and An Unhurried Life, which was honored with a Christianity Today Award of Merit in spirituality. He is also coauthor (with Gem Fadling) of What Does Your Soul Love? His most recent book is A Year of Slowing Down. Fadling is a trained spiritual director, and he lives in Mission Viejo, California, with his wife, Gem.

Alan Fadling (MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary) is president and founder of Unhurried Living, Inc. in Mission Viejo, California, inspiring people to rest deeper, live fuller, and lead better. He speaks and consults internationally with organizations such as Saddleback Church, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Cru, Halftime Institute, Apprentice Institute, and Open Doors International. He is the award-winning author of An Unhurried Life, honored with a Christianity Today Award of Merit in spirituality, and he is also a contributing author to Eternal Living: Reflections on Dallas Willard's Teaching on Faith and Formation. Fadling is a certified spiritual director, and he lives in Mission Viejo, California, with his wife Gem and their three sons.

Table of Contents

1. Becoming a Master of Anxiety
2. Anxiety Isn't for the Birds
3. Students Become Mentors
4. Gracious Fullness
5. Practicing Presence
6. Simple Virtues
7. Unexpected Paths to Peace
8. A Buoyant Life
9. Confronting the Giant
10. Peace in Troubling Times
11. Embodied Peace
12. Rhythms of Peace
13. Non-Anxious Work
14. Becoming a Master of Peace
Acknowledgments
Appendix A: A Non-Anxious Prayer
Appendix B: Group Guide
Notes

What People are Saying About This

Curt Thompson

"To be human is to be anxious. It is not a question of if, but in what way are we anxious and how we respond to it. Never before have we been more acquainted with all that is true about this; never before have we been more worried about our worry. But thanks be to God, for our good fortune, into our moment comes A Non-Anxious Life, Alan Fadling's superlative offering on what it means to live in the world, practicing becoming the people that Jesus imagines us to become. Vulnerable, accessible, and practical, this volume is timely and filled with great wisdom. Read it and learn to become anxious for nothing, on the way to becoming an outpost of peace in all your life's endeavors."

Barbara L. Peacock

"The holy and unhurried spiritual journey will deeply touch hungry souls longing to pull away from the clamoring vicissitudes of life. While mainstream society focuses on busyness and accomplishments, Alan Fadling calls disciples to detach from such overcommitted, narcissistic lifestyles. A Non-Anxious Life offers a multiplicity of spiritual practices and paradigms that provide genuine transformation. This book makes a clarion call for the beloved to abide in God's presence. Having a relationship with Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is the essential foundation for spiritual maturation and living an unhurried life."

Tom Nelson

"Alan Fadling is a seasoned and wise guide who gently points the longing and unsatisfied heart in a different direction than to the frenetic pace and seductive siren songs of our noisy and anxious culture. Each carefully chosen word reflects a gifted artist of the soul whose insights from Holy Scripture along with contemplative voices from the past, as well as his own transparent spiritual journey, bring renewed peace and hope to any weary soul. I highly recommend this book."

Jen Pollock Michel

"I don't often admit the constancy of anxiety in my life—but with Alan Fadling, I think I could risk the honesty. The wisdom of his deeply personal book A Non-Anxious Life has been gained through gracious movement toward the trustworthy friendship of Jesus. As Fadling reminds us through Scripture and story, in the company of Christ—and with a vision of his sufficiency and care—we need never be afraid. What simple, freeing news that readers will benefit to learn—and practice."

Jay Kim

"Alan Fadling reminds us that 'the peace of Jesus doesn't depend on a stress-free setting. . . . The peace of Jesus is deep-rooted.' This book was a mirror, reminding me of what I need so consistently but am so often too busy to recognize—the abiding peace of Christ and the liberating power it can have. A Non-Anxious Life is a rich, inspiring, and practically helpful book that any and all who wrestle with the frenetic pace of modern life must read."

Editorial Reviews

11/13/2023

Fadling (A Year of Slowing Down), president of Unhurried Living, a spiritual and leadership coaching consultancy, and self-described “master of anxiety,” traces in this stirring outing his search for peace through faith. Plagued since childhood by the “dark insinuations” of anxiety, the author has realized that while fear can’t be eradicated, “the ways in which I have let malform me can be reformed” through the knowledge that “my very body is a temple of the Holy Spirit... that Spirit bears the fruit of peace.” Weaving in scriptural passages that have brought him comfort (including Paul’s entreaty in Colossians to “live your life in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith”), the author explores how anxiety distances believers from God (in that it displaces “trust from a reliable God to own unreliable ideas”); the value of turning attention outward (“When we pray for others... we are bringing others into the presence of God—with us”); and the ways in which anxiety shrinks one’s world (anxiety “is usually aimed at surviving,” while “grace invites us to thrive”). While Fadling’s observations are thought-provoking and eloquently conveyed, readers will find most comfort in his promise that anxiety can coexist with faith and his admission that he too is a work in progress: “I’m not claiming to have arrived in a place where I never feel... worried anymore.” Stressed-out believers will find succor. (Feb.)Correction: An earlier version of this review mistakenly described the author as a pastor.

Publishers Weekly

"The holy and unhurried spiritual journey will deeply touch hungry souls longing to pull away from the clamoring vicissitudes of life. While mainstream society focuses on busyness and accomplishments, Alan Fadling calls disciples to detach from such overcommitted, narcissistic lifestyles. A Non-Anxious Life offers a multiplicity of spiritual practices and paradigms that provide genuine transformation. This book makes a clarion call for the beloved to abide in God's presence. Having a relationship with Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is the essential foundation for spiritual maturation and living an unhurried life."

Barbara L. Peacock

"Alan Fadling is a seasoned and wise guide who gently points the longing and unsatisfied heart in a different direction than to the frenetic pace and seductive siren songs of our noisy and anxious culture. Each carefully chosen word reflects a gifted artist of the soul whose insights from Holy Scripture along with contemplative voices from the past, as well as his own transparent spiritual journey, bring renewed peace and hope to any weary soul. I highly recommend this book."

Tom Nelson

"Alan Fadling reminds us that 'the peace of Jesus doesn't depend on a stress-free setting. . . . The peace of Jesus is deep-rooted.' This book was a mirror, reminding me of what I need so consistently but am so often too busy to recognize—the abiding peace of Christ and the liberating power it can have. A Non-Anxious Life is a rich, inspiring, and practically helpful book that any and all who wrestle with the frenetic pace of modern life must read."

Jay Kim

"To be human is to be anxious. It is not a question of if, but in what way are we anxious and how we respond to it. Never before have we been more acquainted with all that is true about this; never before have we been more worried about our worry. But thanks be to God, for our good fortune, into our moment comes A Non-Anxious Life, Alan Fadling's superlative offering on what it means to live in the world, practicing becoming the people that Jesus imagines us to become. Vulnerable, accessible, and practical, this volume is timely and filled with great wisdom. Read it and learn to become anxious for nothing, on the way to becoming an outpost of peace in all your life's endeavors."

Curt Thompson

"I don't often admit the constancy of anxiety in my life—but with Alan Fadling, I think I could risk the honesty. The wisdom of his deeply personal book A Non-Anxious Life has been gained through gracious movement toward the trustworthy friendship of Jesus. As Fadling reminds us through Scripture and story, in the company of Christ—and with a vision of his sufficiency and care—we need never be afraid. What simple, freeing news that readers will benefit to learn—and practice."

Jen Pollock Michel